


Vows

by mistleto3



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Wedding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-23 00:44:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6099294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mistleto3/pseuds/mistleto3
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mikoto and Tatara get married.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Vows

**Author's Note:**

> This story can also be found on [Tumblr](http://mikototsu-trash.tumblr.com/post/139751614588/vows)

When Mikoto opened the door to their bedroom, he found Tatara stretched out on his stomach the wrong way up on the bed, his chin resting in his hands as he stared, teary-eyed, at the television. Though Tatara technically didn’t live with Mikoto in the apartment above the bar, he spent many more nights there than he did at his own place.

“Are you okay...?” Mikoto raised his eyebrow at the tear on his vassal’s cheek.

“Doesn’t she look beautiful?” Tatara nodded towards the screen, which was playing a reality show about a wedding dress store.

“What the hell are you watching?” Mikoto lay down beside him, draping an arm across his waist.

“Say Yes to the Dress. It’s about people choosing their wedding dresses.”

“Strange man.”

Tatara rolled onto his side to face the King and chuckled. “I bet making clothes and stuff is really fun. I might get a sewing machine; I could make dresses for Anna.”

“I’m sure it would be.” Mikoto didn’t protest; it was pointless trying to talk Tatara out of adopting a new hobby, even though everyone (including Tatara himself) knew that he would obsess over it for a month or two, then forget about it as soon as he found something else that interested him.

Tatara returned his attention to the TV, absently snuggling up Mikoto. The King buried his face in his vassal’s soft hair and breathed in the scent of his skin, letting the warmth of his body relax him and soothe the ache in his chest that built up whenever they weren’t in contact. Mikoto’s hand snaked under Tatara’s shirt and he rested his palm over his heart.

Tatara smiled. “It must be nice to get married…” He mused after a little while had passed.

“Do you want to?”

Tatara looked up at Mikoto in surprise. “Are you… proposing?”

Mikoto shrugged. “I guess so.”

Tatara’s cheeks flushed, and a grin spread across his lips. “O-of course I want to!”

Mikoto slid off the ring that he always wore on the index finger of his right hand and slipped it onto Tatara’s left ring finger. His vassal was lost for words; he gazed at the band for a long moment, then looked up at Mikoto with a sort of dazed look on his face. Mikoto chuckled, then kissed him.

They broke the kiss after a long moment, then Mikoto frowned.

“What?” Tatara asked.

“We can’t get married. Same-sex marriage isn’t legal in Japan.”

“Well, no… But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a ceremony. And I was looking into it a little while ago, and Shizume City offers partnership certificates, which give the equivalent legal status, so we can sort of get married in everything but name.”

“Alright, we’ll do that.”

“We also need to move in together.”

“You practically live here already.” Mikoto pointed out.

“I know, but I mean officially. I still technically have my own apartment, and there’s still some stuff there of mine.”

“So just cancel the lease and move your shit here.” Mikoto shrugged.

Tatara chuckled. “Okay, okay. I’ll get it done before the wedding…” He paused. “‘Wedding’ sounds weird doesn’t it? A good weird though.”

The corner of the King’s lip quirked up into a small smile. “Mm.” He agreed, then kissed the top of Tatara’s head.

* * *

 

Tatara sat cross legged on one of the sofas in the bar, sighing in frustration at the laptop resting on his knees every couple of minutes or so.

“What’s bugging you?” Izumo called to him after a little while from where he stood behind the bar, polishing glasses ready for the bar to open later that evening.

“How does one go about planning an event?”

“Depends what kind of event ya have in mind.”

“A wedding.”

“A we-... You and Mikoto got engaged?” Izumo sounded surprised.

Tatara nodded and held out his hand, wiggling his fingers to show off his ring.

Izumo grinned. “Well congratulations.” He set down the glass and went to sit beside Tatara.

“Thank you~”

“We were all taking bets on how long it’d take for one of you to pop the question, or whether ya’d even bother. Who asked?”

“I don’t really know, it just sort of happened.”

Izumo chuckled. “Shouldn’t have expected anything different from you two. The whole planning thing depends how many people you’re inviting, whether you want something fancy or something small, what kind of venue you want, what your budget is…”

“Well, we’re going to want a lot of people, everyone in Homra for sure and their plus ones. But we don’t want anything fancy- I mean, can you imagine trying to get Mikoto into a penguin suit with the waistcoat and dicky bow? No flowers or frills or any of that sort of thing. Not a church either, just a registry office would be fine, and here seems the most obvious place to hold the reception. We don’t have to have a sit-down meal or anything either, a buffet would probably be better. We just want something simple, ya know? Mikoto isn’t exactly into the whole dramatic proclamation of love thing.”

Izumo chuckled. “Yeah, I know. C’mere, let me have a look.” He picked up the laptop and set it on his own knee, acutely aware that he had just volunteered to plan the wedding for them.

“We definitely want a cake though!” Tatara hastened to add. “Oh, and another thing, Mikoto asked me to ask you if you’d be his best man.”

The bartender smiled. “Of course, I’d be honoured. What about you, who are you going to ask?”

“I think I’m going to ask Yata-san, and of course Anna is going to be our bridesmaid.”

“Can ya even have a bridesmaid if there isn’t a bride?”

Tatara shrugged and smiled in that carefree manner of his. “So long as she gets to walk down the aisle wearing a pretty dress I’m sure she’ll be happy.”

* * *

 

“King, do you want to have like a honeymoon or anything?” Tatara looked up from the book he was reading and asked the question seemingly out of nowhere as they lay together in bed one evening.

Mikoto had been dozing, and cracked open one eye to peer at Tatara. “Hmm?”

“You know, like go on holiday after the wedding.”

“I know what a honeymoon is.”

“I think it would be nice to go somewhere, just the two of us. See some sights, eat different food, or even just lie on the beach for a while.”

“If that’s what you want.”

“I’ve never been out of the country before; I think it would be fun. Maybe Hawaii? It’s nice and warm there, and there’s lots of cool stuff to see.”

“You seem to have put a lot of thought into this.” Mikoto raised an eyebrow.

“Didn’t you ever fantasise about what your wedding or honeymoon would be like when you were a kid? Actually, forget I asked, of course you didn’t.”

The King chuckled. “Did you?”

Tatara nodded. “Mm. None of it turned out to be accurate though.”

“Oh?”

“Well, for one thing I sort of expected to be getting married to a woman.” He chuckled sheepishly. “Have a typical wedding in a little chapel, a few guests, white dresses and flowers and tuxedos…”

“Would you rather have that?”

“Nah. I don’t need a big ceremony to know you love me. Something simple feels more organic anyway, more ‘us’, ya know?”

“Mm…” Mikoto agreed absently, then after a moment asked: “What about the getting married to a woman thing?”

Tatara rolled onto his front and laid his chin on Mikoto’s chest, looking up at him. “You’re not asking if I’d rather be marrying a girl, are you?”

Mikoto looked up at the ceiling. “There’s stuff I can’t give you.”

“Don’t be silly, King.” Tatara kissed him on the cheek. “Like what?”

“I dunno, don’t most people who get married want to have kids and shit eventually?”

“I mean, I guess so, but it’s not that important to me. We already have Anna; she’s practically our daughter. And it’s not like we can’t adopt or anything, ya know, if a time comes and we decide we want that stuff. Even if we could never have kids, or if you don’t want any, I’ll always be happy so long as I have you.” Tatara peered up at his face, trying to read his expression. “Aren’t you the same as me though, anyway?”

“Hmm?”

“Ya know, batting for both teams?”

Mikoto shrugged. “Never really thought about it. I guess before you I was only ever with women, but it was just sex.” He shrugged again. “Didn’t care enough to give it a name.”

Tatara nodded slowly. “I thought about it a bit… mostly when I was younger though, about 13, and I had a few little childish crushes. It was never really a source of great anxiety or anything, just kind of an ‘oh, I have a crush on the cute guy in my literature class. Fair enough,’ sort of thing. You know what I’m like; I’m not very serious, even about important things.”

When Mikoto merely huffed his acknowledgement in response, he continued: “I never noticed anyone else after I met you, though. Even when we were just friends, I never even considered anyone else, guy or girl, in a romantic or sexual light. It just didn’t occur to me to.”

Mikoto grunted quietly in agreement; he would never admit to something so soppy, but Tatara understood that he was saying _me too._

“I’m never going to leave you, you know. I’m yours. You could push me away and push me away but you’d never get rid of me, so you can stop worrying about it. I’m not going to get bored of you. I’m not going to decide in a few years that actually I don’t want to be with a guy after all. I don’t care; you’re my King and I love you no matter what.”

Mikoto finally looked down at Tatara and met his eyes, then ruffled his hair gently with his fingertips in a wordless _thank you_. Tatara always seemed to have a way of knowing what he was afraid of and exactly how to soothe him, even if Mikoto would never admit to his fears out loud.

“Besides.” Tatara’s tone became light-hearted again. “You’re really hot, and very talented in the bedroom department, so it’s not like I’m unsatisfied.” He said playfully.

Mikoto chuckled and pulled Tatara up on top of him so that they were face to face.

Tatara pecked him on the lips. “Love you~”

The King smiled and pulled him down to kiss him again.

* * *

 

Mikoto sat at the back of the bar, which was otherwise empty, hunched over a table in one of the booths. His head rested in his hands, with his fingertips pressed to his temples in exasperation. Trapped between his elbow and the table was a pad of paper, which was covered in an increasingly aggressive series of crossings out. His pen had rolled half way across the table without him noticing.

The sound of the door opening caught his attention, and he slowly lifted his head. “What are you doing in these parts? I thought you said the air was too toxic for your taste around here.”

Reisi chuckled and walked over to sit down opposite the Red King. He took a packet of cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to Mikoto, then took one for himself. Mikoto took out a lighter and lit his friend’s cigarette, then his own.

“Bar doesn’t open for another 2 hours.” Mikoto pointed out.

“A little bird told me you were having some trouble.”

“And what little bird is that?”

“I never reveal my sources, Suoh. I thought I might be of some assistance.”

“You’re right; I think beating the crap out of someone is just what I need right now.” He cracked his knuckles.

Reisi smiled. “How long until the wedding?”

“A week.”

“And you haven’t written your vows yet?”

“You know me; I’m not much for lovey dovey crap.”

“Why not just use the standard ones?”

“Totsuka’s writing his own; it’d look pretty shitty if I didn’t.”

Reisi eased the notepad out from under Mikoto’s arm and picked up the pen, tearing off the top sheet of paper.

“Vows are supposed to be a declaration of why you love the other person, and what you promise to do for them when you’re married.”

“You know an awful lot about this for a single guy, Munakata. Been watching too many romantic dramas?”

“What else is a man supposed to do with his time?”

Mikoto chuckled.

“It’s obvious to everyone who pays attention what he is to you.” Reisi peered up over the rims of his glasses at Mikoto.

“And what would that be?”

“The only reason you didn’t burn yourself up into ashes years ago.”

Mikoto huffed a single, quiet laugh. “Well you’re not wrong.”

“So write about that. This is the only time you have to be sentimental in your life, Suoh. You might as well make the boy feel special, then you can recede back into that emotionless shell of yours.”

“Why are you helping me anyway?”

“Because if you make a fool of yourself, I’m not sure I’ll survive the second-hand embarrassment.”

“Yeah, alright.” Mikoto half-smirked and leaned forward over the table again, and the Kings got to work.

* * *

 

Mikoto tossed the butt of another cigarette in the bin beside him, then instinctively reached for the pack in his pocket, only to find it was empty.

“Oi, there you are. You need to get inside; Totsuka will be here soon.” Izumo rounded the corner to find Mikoto around the side of the registry office just as he was tossing the empty cigarette packet into the bin.

“That’s empty? Jeez, Mikoto, I gave it to you full an hour ago.”

Mikoto had the decency to give a sheepish smirk.

“I knew this would happen. Here, you’re going to smell like smoke otherwise.” Izumo pulled a packet of mints from his pocket and tipped three into Mikoto’s hand, then from the other pocket he drew a bottle of cologne and spritzed the King with it before he had the chance to object. Mikoto popped the mints into his mouth without protesting.

“Come on, get your ass inside. Totsuka will kill you if you’re late to his wedding.”

Mikoto chuckled and allowed his friend to lead him inside, stopping just inside the doors. The King wasn’t particularly dressed up; he wore a dark grey blazer, rolled up at the sleeves, a white shirt, which was neither tucked in, nor did it have the top button fastened, black jeans, and a dark red tie. Izumo dusted a little cigarette ash off his blazer and straightened his tie.

“You ready?”

“Hell no.”

Izumo chuckled and clapped Mikoto on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine.”

They heard the sound of a car pulling up outside and the King swallowed anxiously.

“Breathe, Mikoto.”

Music started playing inside the room. The Red King gave a little nod, and Izumo pushed open the doors. They walked side by side down the aisle, which was surrounded by a sea of red clansmen. Mikoto had never seen them all looking at least semi-presentable at once before. However, the only two in traditionally appropriate wedding attire were Reisi, who stood at the front of the room to act as their master of ceremonies, and Seri, who sat on the front row.  
Mikoto’s mouth was dry by the time he reached the end of the aisle. He stood at the front of the room, rubbing his sweating palms anxiously against the fabric of his jeans. The Red King had fought vicious gang leaders and dangerous strains without so much as a flutter of fear, but this? His fingers ached for another cigarette. To be a King was one thing, but to be a husband, to put the deeply private feelings he had for Tatara into words, and confess them out loud in front of his closest friends terrified him. But not more than the prospect of letting Tatara down, of failing him, of hurting him, of losing him, of not living up to the expectations set out by the title of “husband.” Even now, he was nowhere near convinced that he had ever done anything that brought him even close to being deserving of Tatara, the man who could unfailingly find light in the darkest of times, and the darkest of people.

The doors opened again, and Anna stepped through first, wearing a beautiful scarlet gown. Her hair was curled into loose ringlets, and into it had been woven dozens of tiny red roses. She carried a neat bouquet of yet more roses in her hands, tied together with a crimson bow. Behind her walked Tatara, who was dressed in a simple black suit and red tie and wore a grin that almost seemed to glow, accompanied by Misaki. At the sight of his groom-to-be, Mikoto forgot to breathe for a moment. It was only when Tatara reached the front of the room and joined hands with the King that he finally drew in a lungful of air.

The music faded out, and Reisi began the short, simple service.

“We have all gathered here today to celebrate the joining of the lives of these two people: Totsuka Tatara, and the Red King Suoh Mikoto.”

Mikoto could barely hear the words over the sound of his pulse pounding in his ears.

“Do you, Totsuka Tatara, take Suoh Mikoto as your partner, to share your life with, to stand beside through hardship and ease, through sorrow and joy, to love and cherish forevermore?”

“I will.” Tatara’s voice rang clear, as if he had never been more sure of anything else.

“And do you, Suoh Mikoto, take Tatara Totsuka as your partner, to share your life with, to stand beside through hardship and ease, through sorrow and joy, to love and cherish forevermore?”

“I will.” Mikoto felt Tatara squeeze his hands as he spoke the words.

“A partnership such as this is built upon the promises that two people make and keep to one another. Although these promises will be spoken in only a matter of minutes, they will form the bond between you that will last for eternity. Totsuka Tatara, please speak your vows.”

“From the moment I met you, I knew you were someone special.” Tatara began. His voice was quivering as he tried to hold back tears, but there was a sense of pride in his words that filled the room. “I knew that meeting you would change my life forever, but I never imagined it would change this much. You gave me a purpose and a direction when I was adrift. You gave me someone to believe in, to rely on, to cherish above all others. You gave me love and friendship and kindness and family when I had never had them before. And I promise that I will give you all of these things in return, for as long as I live, because you’re my King, and I will follow you anywhere.” As he looked up at Mikoto, the tears that brimmed in his eyes glimmered in the light.

“Suoh Mikoto, please speak your vows.”

Mikoto took a deep breath. “You are my reason to live.” He stated quietly, his hands unsteady as they gripped Tatara’s. “Everything that hurts stops hurting whenever I’m with you. Everything that used to scare me stops mattering. I used to struggle to face every new day, but with you at my side I could conquer anything the world can throw at me. You understand me, and know exactly how to make everything easier without ever having to be told. I don’t know what I did to deserve someone like you, but you make my life worth living by being in it, so I want you there for as long as it lasts. In return, I promise to protect you and love you and support you, as you always have for me.”

Tatara stared at Mikoto, his lips parted in surprise. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks. Hearing the King finally put those emotions into words after all those years, knowing how difficult it was for him to declare them like that, meant more to Tatara than he could ever express.

“Let us now have the rings brought forward.” Izumo and Misaki stepped up from their positions beside the pair and handed over the rings. Tatara thought he saw a tear on Misaki’s cheek as he turned to sit down on the front row. The rings were simple, identical thin bands of tungsten, with a single red stone inlaid into the metal.

“Totsuka Tatara, please repeat after me: ‘I offer my vow to you in the form of this ring.’”

“I offer my vow to you in the form of this ring.” Gently, he slipped the band onto Mikoto’s finger, then kissed the back of his hand.

“Suoh Mikoto, please repeat after me: ‘I offer my vow to you in the form of this ring.’”

“I offer my vow to you in the form of this ring.” With shaking hands, he slid on Totsuka’s ring.

“May the vows and promises you have made today be as ever-present in your hearts as these rings are on your fingers. May your lives together be filled with joy. You came to this place as two individuals, and you leave together as one. You may now kiss.”

Tatara threw his arms around Mikoto’s neck and pressed their lips firmly together, and instantly all the anxiety in the King’s stomach seemed to blow away like smoke.

“It is my pleasure to present for the first time these two people as one united partnership.”

The Red Clan erupted with cheers, leaping from their seats to whistle and shout and applaud. Mikoto didn’t notice; he couldn’t see anything but his husband.

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: I wrote a sarumi-centric follow up to this fic titled [Place Cards](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7716736)!


End file.
